Abrahamic sacred texts continue to inspire a diversity of scholarship that seeks to transform the ancient into the contemporary, the remote into the immediate, and the distant into the visceral experience. This seminar of three panels takes that process into the examination of troubling topics, often overlooked, yet found in the Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur’an. Building from foundational texts, other sacred works such as Talmud, Apocrypha, Patristics, and Hadith as well as philosophy, parody, satire, and the arts may be brought into play. Views from global perspectives are enthusiastically invited so as to better contribute to diversity and freshness of the dialogue. One or more texts may serve as focus. Although the goal is to present a spectrum of insights, the strategy is text-based and ruminations spring from textual pericope. Suggested troubling topics include but are not limited to the following: Gender & Sexuality, Body & Appearance, Women & Feminism, Death & Mourning, Life & Hunor, Crime & Disobedience, and Intersectionality. This seminar continues an exploratory tradition begun with Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur’an as Literature and Culture(Brill 2009). Submit a 250 word proposal via the ACLA website between August 30-September 20, 2018. Contact Roberta Sabbath for questions, musings, and your proposal ideas. roberta.sabbath@unlv.edu